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IMPROVEMENT IN STEAMBOAT SIGNAL APPARATUS.

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TO WHOM IT MAY OONCERNi I Be it known that I, PATRICK KENNY, of the .city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Steamboat Signal Bell; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference heing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of'this specification, in which- Figure l is a top view of my improved apparatus, the dial and its supports being removed.

, Figure 2 is a front view of thedial plate. v

Figure 3 is a front view of the same partly in section throughthe linen; m, fig. 4, and with the dial and its supports removed.

Figure 4 is a vertical scction of the same taken through the line y y, fig. 3,

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

My invention has for its object. to furnish an improved apparatus by means of which the pilot from the pilot-house may readily and unmistakably communicate-his directions tothe engineer.

A is the signal bell, which isplaced in the engine-room, and which is struck by the hammer B to call the engineers attention to the direction given. The hammer B is pivoted to the support or frame C, upon which the hell A is hung, as shown in fig. 3,-and is held in position and drawn forward to give the stroke by the coiled wire spring D, one end of.which is attached to the handle or lever b of the hammer B, and the other end is attached to the frame or. support C, as shown in dotted lines in fig. 3. E is a trip-plate, which is pivoted to the upper end of the hammer-lever b and held by the coiled wire spring F, one end of whichis attached to said plate E, audits other end to the said handle 6 in such a position 'that'it will be struck and the hammerk raised for a stroke by the advance of either of the levers G, and which allows thesa-id levers to move back co their places when released without ringing the bell. The 1evers.G ,are all pivotedto the rigid arm attached to and projecting from the frame or supportO, as shown in fig. 1, and they are connected to and operated' by the signal handles I, J, K, placed in the pilot-house, as hereinafter more fully described. By this construction and arrangement the bell-hammer B may be operated by either of the series of levers G without interfering with any of the other parts or slackening any of the connecting wires, as is the case when said hammer is operated in the ordinary manner. In the ordinary construction, when the bell is to be sounded by more than one bell-pull, the several pulling wires are connected with the trip-plate. But in my improvement two or more bell-pulls and levers G and their wires are all made to operate independently upon one trip-plate The top-plate or cover L of the box or frame M, in which 'the'signal handles I, J, K, N are placed, is made with four slots, through which project and in which work the said handles. By this arrangement only one handle can be moved in the same direction; that is to say, if the pilot wishes to direct the engineer to go ahead he pushes the handle I toward the bow of the boat, and as that is the only handle that can move in that direction there is no possibility of mistaking it even in the dark. In ,the same way, if he wishes the boat to back, he moves the handle K toward the stern of the boat, which said handle is the only-one that can be moved in-that direction, and so with the other orders. The signal handles I, J, K are. pivoted in the box or frame M in such a way that each of them can'move only-in itsvproper direction, so that should the guide-plate or cover L ofthe hex or framellI be removed the said handles could move in no other than the proper direction; and the'yare connected with the levers G by the connecting wires O,P, R, S, and the bell-cranks T, U, V, in the ordinary manner. In situations where the signal handles, I, J, K, and levers G, are at so great a distance from each other that the action of the connecting wires would not be always reliable, the levers G- may be operated by magnetism, the circuits being closed broken by the movements of the handles I, J, K. In this case the said levers G must be made of soft iron so as to act as armatures to the magnets. The levers G are drawn back to their places after being drawn forward by operating the keys by the coiled wire springs W, the ends of which are attached to the upper end of the levers G" and their other ends to the rigid arm X attached to and projecting from the frame or support C, as shown infigs. 1 and '3. The continuations G of the levers G maybe springs or elastic arms attached to said levers, as shown in fig. 3, or they may be rigid arms, or

they may be made in one piece with said levers, as may be most convenient. To the upper ends of the levers G G are attached the ends of the cords Z, or other flexible connections. The other ends of the cords Z are attached to the side-bars-a" of .thereel A, as shown in 3. The reel A is attached to the shaft 3, and

is, in fact, only an enlargement of the said shaft, and may,oif desired, be omitted and the flexible connecting cords.Z attached directly to the said shaft B, or to flanges formed upon said shaft; or, the shaft B may be made of any desired size and the cords Z attached to it by any desired means. The cords Z must be attached to the shaft B at intervals proportioned and corresponding to the intervals between the signal marks or directions upon the dial, so'that as the'signal handles I, J, K are operated the index finger may always point exactly to the desired signal mark. The shaft B. is. held in the place to. which it has been revolved by theelastic'rod C, which rests upon the bars a of said reel, as shown, in fig. 3,' or upon any other suitable stops formed upon or attached to said shaft. The upper end of the elastic rodC rests in a notch i n a support I) attached to the frame or'support C, audits other end passes under the arm X and is secured to the frame or support 0, as shown in fig. 3. The shaft B revolves inbearings,one of which is attached to the frameor support C and the other to the end of the rigid arm E, projecting from the.

frame, or support 0, to which it is secured. To the end of the shaft B" is attached an index finger F, which, as the shaft 13' is revolved, turns and points to one orvthe other of the directions upon the dialplate, W, as the 'pilot may elect. The dial is secured to and supported by the frame or support C, and has the three ordinary orders of the pilot to the engineer printed upon it, as shown in fig. 2. H is a small bell suspended in the ordinary manner? near the bell 'A, and connected with the signal =handlc N by the connecting wir s I J and the bell-crank K -in"the ordinary. manner. L 'is a coiled wire spring, one end of which is co nnected to the frame or. support C and the other to the bell H for the purpose of drawing vthe key N back to its place after Having rung the .bell H. The use of this bell is to inform the engineer that all is right and that he need not expect any-immediatechange-of orders. But the same information may be communicated by repeating the order last; given, so that the use of the bell H is optional and not essential to the apparatus. Insome cases the pilot may desire to have a dial-plate in .the -pilot-house, the index finger of which shall stand in the same position as the one in the engine-room and be operated at thesame time and by the same movement of the signal handles. .In this case the ends 'of the connecting wires that operate theset of levers G that are placed in the pilot-house are attached to the arms 1) of the bell-cranks V. By this arrangement both index fingers will be operated by the same movements of the same signal handles, and will both always stand in exactly, the same position. My improved apparatus. has been described as applied to steamboats, and has been represented as having only three orders on the dial-plate; but it is equally applicable toother uses, and may have any desired nuxnber of orders on the dial, to which-the index finger maybe made to point, by increasing the number of connecting cords, springs, levers, connecting wires, &c. in the same proportion. But in this case the keys must be arranged differently. I I I v V What I claim as new, and desire to secure-by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination of the signal handles with each other in the manner deseribed .so that each signal handle will have a difi'erent line of movement, as and for the purpose setg'forth.

2. Attaching the connecting cords to the index shaft at intervals proportioned and corresponding to the intervals between the signal marks upon'the .dial, substantially as described. A, 3. The combination of one or more levers G, ortheir equivalents, with the index shaft, substantially as described. I 4 j v The above specification of my invention signedhy me this 28th day of September, 1866 PATRICK KENNEL Witnesses:

WM. F. MONAMARA,

L nes T. Gmnsiu. 

